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Beginning - 02 May 2026

The Year 1691: Music for a Jacobite hero

Description

In the first three sessions, Eibhlís Ní Ríordáin, will teach you how to sing and play the powerful lament Slán Chum Pádraig Sáirséal ('Farewell to Patrick Sarsfield'). Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan (c.1655-1693), was an important military figure and a folk hero in Irish history. The song is still sung in the living tradition, although it is perhaps better known nowadays as a poem than as a song. Sarsfield was a Catholic Irish nobleman and soldier who played a significant role in the Williamite wars, on the Jacobite side, supporting the Catholic Stuart kings of England. After the defeat of the Jacobites in 1691, Sarsfield signed the Treaty of Limerick and was then exiled from Ireland—in the tragic 'Flight of the Wild Geese'—and died on the battlefield in Belgium in 1693.

The song is said to have been written at the end of the 17th century, by a soldier follower of Sarsfield's. The music for it first appears in print in 1724, in Neal's A Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes..., the earliest printed book of Irish music in Ireland.

In sessions 4, 5, and 6, Siobhán Armstrong will guide you in learning the poigniant lament Briseadh na Bóinne (‘the defeat at the Boyne’). Siobhán discovered the air of this song in the manuscripts of the 19th-century clergyman, musician, and music collector, Canon James Goodman from county Kerry. It is a heartrending lament commemorating the defeat of the Irish / Jacobite side at the famous Battle of the Boyne in 1690, where the forces of William of Orange won the day, leading to another 300 years of colonial rule in Ireland. Learn the air; explore how to flesh it out into a piece for two hands within a framework of the Irish harping idiom captured by Edward Bunting in the 18th century, and work on phrasing and ornamentation to really break your listener’s hearts!

All harps welcome!

Course Duration

6 Sessions

Level

Singing: all levels | Playing: Post-beginner+

Class Time

5:30–6:45 pm (Irish time)

Tutor(s)

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Dr Siobhán Armstrong

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Eibhlís Ní Ríordáin

Price

€99.00

Saturday | 5:30–6:45 pm (Irish time)

02 May

Session 1

Pádraig Sáirséal (1 of 3)

Speaking, understanding and singing verses 1, 2 and 3.
This session starts with a brief introduction to the historical background, and guides you through some important musical and textual sources for Slán chum Pádraig Sáirséal, a Jacobite song in praise of Patrick Sarsfield (Pádraig Sáirséal), a hugely popular folk hero in Ireland. Among other important sources we will look at Neal's A Collection of the Most Celebrated  Irish Tunes ... (1724), the earliest printed book of Irish music in Ireland and the first source of the music for this song.

You will be taught the meanings, the pronunciation, the metre and accentuation of the Irish language song text. As you learn to sing the song, Eibhlís will also give you guidance on sean-nós (traditional Irish language singing) style and technique.

[Eibhlís Ní Ríordáin]

09 May

Session 2

Pádraig Sáirséal (2 of 3)

Speaking, singing and understanding verse 4 and 5; a brief revision of verses 1, 2 and 3.
In the second session, along with learning some more of the short song verses, you will start to 'sing with your fingers': you'll learn to play the song melody on your harp, guided by what you have already learned in the singing and studying of the song.

[Eibhlís Ní Ríordáin]

16 May

Session 3

Pádraig Sáirséal (3 of 3)

Learning a simple harp setting, as well as some possible simple variations in the harp accompaniment for some of the many verses of this song. Singing and playing Pádraig Sáirséal, masterclass.

In the third session you will learn a historically plausible, simple harp setting of the song, and Eibhlís will show you some possible variants in the accompaniment for some of the many verses. With the time remaining in this session, you will have an opportunity to sing and/or play the song and get some further performance guidance from Eibhlís.

[Eibhlís Ní Ríordáin]

30 May

Session 4

Briseadh na Bóinne (1 of 3)

Over the next three sessions, learn the lament Briseadh na Bóinne (‘the defeat at the Boyne’), explore how to flesh it out into a piece for two hands within a framework of the Irish harping idiom captured by Edward Bunting in the 18th century, and work on phrasing and ornamentation.

[Siobhán Armstrong]

06 Jun

Session 5

Briseadh na Bóinne (2 of 3)

[Siobhán Armstrong]

13 Jun

Session 6

Briseadh na Bóinne (3 of 3)

[Siobhán Armstrong]

What to Expect

In this course, students will —

  • learn to pronounce and sing the lyrics of up to five (short!) verses of an important 17th century Jacobite song, the music of which is in the earliest printed collection of Irish music in Ireland (1724)
  • learn to recognise and reproduce the vocal phrasing implied by the Irish language lyrics; to explore the poetic metre, and to use this knowledge to enhance your performance of the song
  • use the lyrics and vocal phrasing you have learned to bring the melody to life on your harp, helping you to play in a more nuanced way—to 'sing with your fingers'!
  • learn about important stylistic and technical elements of sean-nós singing (traditional Irish language singing)
  • discover how to produce flexible and fluid speech rhythms in your own harp performance
  • learn a historically plausible harp accompaniment for a late 17th century Jacobite song
  • be guided through the sources of words and music, from the historically important earliest printed collection of Irish music, to other surviving manuscript and printed sources from the 18th and 19th centuries
  • explore how to flesh out an air into a piece for two hands within a framework of the Irish harping idiom captured by Edward Bunting in the 18th century

Technical Requirements

  • A laptop, desktop or tablet computer; we do not recommend using a phone to participate
  • Speakers or headphones
  • Access to a printer for downloadable course materials
  • Access to the Zoom platform; further information to help you get set up for participating over Zoom will be sent after you have registered

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